This invention relates to dental implant systems, in particular to systems wherein a cylindrically shaped implant fixture is implanted into a bore prepared to receive it in the jawbone of a patient.
In a typical dental implant system the fixture is pressfitted or screwed into the receiving bore to a depth ranging from about 7 mm. to about 18 mm. In molar regions near the sinus cavities and the mandibular canal depths in this range are not available. Risk of invading the sinus cavities and the mandibular canal is generally avoided, the result being that in these posterior regions only about 4 or 5 mm. of bone depth is available in which to prepare a bore to receive a dental implant. In the present state of the art of dental implantology bore depths less than 7 mm. are not considered useful. Osseointegration required to fix an implant fixture in the jawbone in a bore of shallow depth less than about 7 mm., is difficult to achieve. The greater the surface area in contact with bone, the better is the prognosis.